A weekly summary of news from the syndicated newspaper/web column, The Canadian Report, by Jim Fox.

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Sunday, October 30, 2016

No plans yet to eliminate Canada's 5-cent coin

Canada column for Sunday, Oct. 30/16

THE CANADIAN REPORT

(c) By Jim Fox

First it was the $1
bill and then the $2 note switching to coins in Canada, followed by the
elimination of the penny.

So, could the
nickel be facing retirement next?

Not so fast, the
government insists as an internal analysis on the pros and cons of keeping the nickel
says it will stay for now.

There are “no plans
to discontinue the nickel,” said David Barnabe of the finance department, even
though New Zealand and South Africa have eliminated the coins over the past
decade.

Even as the
purchasing power of the nickel “has eroded over time (down 40 percent over 25
years) relative both to prices and incomes,” the analysis found it is still
cost effective to mint them.

“As there are
virtually no goods or services that can be purchased for a nickel, or several
multiples thereof, the coin is generally used only to make change as part of
larger transactions,” the study reported.

The nickel entered
circulation in 1858 while the penny was dropped in 2013, leaving businesses to round
up to the nearest nickel amount.

Some Canadian
bankers suggest the nickel won’t be around five years from now.

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A group of people
surrounded the entrance to Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto last Monday
night to protest against the Republican presidential candidate’s sexually
aggressive comments.

The incident involving
about 40 people follows an action before the Ontario Court of Appeals about
claims made by investors in the downtown property.

Toronto councillor
Josh Matlow earlier called for the name of the 65-story condo and hotel
complex to be changed over Trump’s Muslim comments.

---

News in brief:

- An Ontario nurse
has been arrested for murder involving eight residents of long-term care homes
in Woodstock and London. Elizabeth Wettlaufer, 49, is accused of killing five
elderly women and three men between 2007 and 2014 by drug injections, police
said. Involved were seven residents at Caressant Care Woodstock and one
resident at Meadow Park in London where Wettlaufer worked.

- Nine independents
have been named to Canada’s Senate by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with six
from Ontario and five from Quebec. Trudeau’s goal is to make Senate appointments
non-partisan to fill vacancies in the 105-seat upper house. When the rest of 21
new senators are named, there will be 44 independents, 40 Conservatives and 21
Liberals.

---

Facts and figures:

Canada’s dollar has dropped to 74.69 cents
U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.338 Canadian, before exchange fees.

The Bank of Canada’s
key interest rate is steady at 0.5 percent while the prime-lending rate is 2.7
percent.

Stock markets are lower,
with the Toronto exchange index at 14,830 points while the TSX Venture index is
774 points.

The average price for
gas in Canada has risen to $1.05 a liter or $3.99 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.

- Montreal-based
National Bank of Canada, the country’s sixth-largest commercial bank, is
cutting 600 jobs, or three percent of its staff, over the next year. The
layoffs are blamed on restructuring to adapt to a technological shift in the
financial services industry. Other positions are being offered to another 300
workers and 500 more jobs are expected to be created within a year.

- There is
currently no risk of Zika virus transmission in Canada after mosquito larvae
from a species linked to human cases of the virus in Florida and the tropics were
found in the Windsor area, health authorities say. Dr. Gary Kirk, medical
officer of health in the Ontario city across from Detroit, said he believes
it’s the first time that type of mosquito has been found in Canada but it
wouldn’t survive the winter. The one case in the area was contracted through
travel.